On June 24 at the 2014 AIA National Convention, I had the privileged of exhibiting my research endeavors which are centered about the creation of an architecture inspired by hip hop culture. The research, which can be discovered by exploring the previous post on my blog, positions prominent architectural practitioners and historical figures such as Le Corbusier and former first Lady Eleanor Roosevelt at the helm of creating the architectural environments which prompted the birth of hip hop culture. The research then transitions to tell the story of the individuals born into hip hop culture and raised in those environments who are now architectural practitioners and creating a new style of socially conscious, technologically innovative architecture. The exhibit's title "Hip Hip Inspired Architecture and Design" and it's content was based on the continued development of graduate thesis completed in 2006 at the University of Detroit Mercy. Since the completion of the thesis, I have given a variety of lectures and presentations on this culturally innovative topic and have gained the respect of my peers as the individual leading the charge in the creation of this new vernacular.

The exhibit held at the AIA Convention was the largest scaled presentation to date. Not because of the amount of information shared but because of the diverse set of practitioners who attended the even and the overall reach of the AIA. How did this reach benefit my research endeavors? After the exhibit I have secured lectures in a number of locations around the country and some abroad, each I will announce in more detail once the dates draw near. The locations include, Detroit, Mexico, Czech Republic, New Jersey, Milwaukee, Philadelphia, Dallas and Atlanta.

Stay Tuned

The design of the exhibit was based on the typical 16 bars composition hip hop and rap music. The exhibit told the story of hip hop architecture through 16 vertically oriented presentation boards/ bars. Over the next 16 days, I will drop a bar per day.